


Danger Night

by TinCanTelephone



Series: Perfection is Overrated [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: (because it's me), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Meet-Cute, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-17 04:18:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11843790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinCanTelephone/pseuds/TinCanTelephone
Summary: Cassian jerked backwards in surprise at the undoubtedly feminine figure standing near the row of stalls. He stumbled back into the hallway and double-checked that he had the right bathroom. He did, but there was stilla girl in the men's restroomand he had no idea what to do about that.In which Cassian doesn't give Jyn mono, although certainly not for lack of trying.





	1. Past Twelve

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to "Change of Plans," which has turned into a whole series that has kind of exploded! Thanks to everyone who's been following along, it means a lot!
> 
> Now we learn how Jyn and Cassian first met!
> 
> (Fun fact, also my first fic with a title that's not exactly 3 words long.)

Leia was working really, really hard to keep the smile off her face. "You're sure?"

Cassian groaned. "Yes. I went to the health center. It's definitely mono."

"And you didn't get _any_ action at Luke's party last month?" She was slouched in his desk chair and he could see her shoulders shaking from his bed in the dim light of his lamp.

He groaned again and buried his face in the pillow. " _No_."

"Then how'd you even get it?"

"Antilles," Cassian raised a finger. "Is prime suspect number one."

"That's redundant."

"Shut up. I have it on good authority he got it from Zal Dinnes and he still had it at Luke's party when he shared his shot glass with me."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "You got mono from a shot glass? You'd think whatever you were drinking would've killed any germs."

"Apparently not."

Leia's control faltered and she dissolved into giggles. "That's a super lame way to get mono. You officially have the worst luck _ever_."

Cassian glared at her. "Laugh all you want, but this means you're the only RA on this floor for the next two weeks. Have fun."

Leia eventually got her laughter under control and came over to the bed. She pushed cold fingers into his neck before running them over his forehead. "Jesus, Cassian, you're a _furnace_. And your glands are huge."

He batted her hand away. "Thanks. I hadn't noticed."

"God, you're crabby when you're sick." She sounded exasperated but when she took a step back he could see the concern on her face. "Are you sure you'll be okay alone tonight? Can I get you some Tylenol or water or something?"

He waved her away. "I just took some and my water bottle's full, so I think I'll make it. Go to your party or whatever."

She pursed her lips. "I don't _have_ to go."

"I don't need a babysitter, Leia. This party is all you've talked about all week. Don't feel like you have to bail on my account."

"Well…"

"Who's throwing it again?"

"Fight Club."

"Fight– what? I didn't even know we had a fight club."

"It's not really called that. Officially, it's the Martial Arts Collective or something. But everyone calls it Fight Club."

"And… Han Solo is a member?"

"No. He's friends with members."

"And he'll be there tonight?"

"Yeah." Even in the dim light, he could see her face getting red.

"You should go."

"Really? You're _totally_ sure you'll be okay?"

"Leia, it's mono. All I plan to do for the next, oh, thousand years, is sleep."

"…Okay." Leia lingered nervously near the door.

"Ugh, your indecision is exhausting. Get out of here."

"Everything is exhausting to you right now."

He threw a spare pillow at her as she slipped out of his dorm room.

Once the door closed, Cassian flicked off his lamp and slumped onto the pillow. He swallowed by accident and winced. God, his throat was _killing_ him. And even after acetaminophen, he was pretty sure his temperature was at least 101. And he was completely exhausted. He didn't think he'd ever been this tired in his life. It felt like all his limbs had been replaced with lead weights and even thinking about moving them was an enormous effort. Mono _sucked_. His life _sucked_. Everything _sucked_.

Because no one was around to hear him, he let a long, drawn-out groan, which through his swollen throat sounded more like a whine and only succeeded in making him cough, which jarred his head and left him feeling worse than before.

A breeze drifted in from the window Leia had cracked, and Cassian rolled his head towards it, savoring the cold air on his face. Even from the third floor, he could hear people laughing and talking and excited footsteps as they hurried between parties. It sounded like there were a lot of people out tonight, and Cassian knew if he walked by the small university-owned townhouses at the edge of campus, every other one would be lit up and pulsing with sweaty students and cheap beer.

On call together, Cassian and Leia would jokingly call nights like these _Danger Nights_ , and brace themselves for a night of noise complaints, drunken lock-outs, and puke in the hallways. Of course, not on call, these were the best nights to be out party-hopping. It got dark early so you didn't have to wait too late to start walking around with an opaque water bottle, but it wasn't that cold so you didn't have to bother with layers you'd shed and lose inside.

Not that Cassian made a habit of partying that hard (or really, at all), but anything would be better than this. Stuck in bed with mono, which he knew meant he'd be weighed down by exhaustion for weeks, which would make studying that much more of a chore, and midterms were coming up…

Overheated minutes ago, he suddenly started shaking with chills and rolled onto his side, tugging the duvet over him. What did the nurse at the health center say? Just rest, try and focus on getting better. He'd already emailed his professors in anticipation of missing most of the coming week. He'd fall a bit behind, but he'd catch up, and he'd be fine. It was all going to be fine.

He took a deep breath and tried to relax. He let his eyes slide shut and drifted off for what he hoped would be a long, long time.

 

He woke up less than two hours later with a horrifically dry, burning throat and covered in sweat. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and reached for his water bottle. He tried to keep his hands steady as he drank eagerly, savoring the feel of the water on the back of his throat. It was the only thing that helped the pain even a little bit and it was still cold, so he could press the outside of it to his face and find a little relief from the hot flashes of the fever. He contemplated the lozenges Leia had brought him, but they didn't really help that much and he was afraid of falling asleep and choking on them.

He'd make do with the water. He was supposed to be drinking a lot of fluids, anyway.

 

* * *

 

As much as Cassian felt like he needed to sleep like the dead, his throat kept waking him up, so he kept drinking water. By midnight, he had two problems– one, his water bottle was empty and two, he really, really needed to pee. And the bathroom just felt so. Far. Away. But Christ he really needed it.

After a few deep breaths to prepare himself, he swung his legs onto the floor and stumbled to his feet, which felt like a feat of herculean proportions.

He felt the head rush almost immediately and was so dizzy he sank onto his knees, gripping his nightstand to keep from falling over entirely. He seriously considered crawling to the bathroom– it was midnight on a Friday in a relatively quiet dorm, who would be wandering the halls at this hour anyway?

He shook his head. No. Nope, he wasn't there yet. He could walk. He _would_ walk.

He struggled to his feet and shuffled to the door, squeezing his eyes shut when he opened it against the bright fluorescent lights. He opened them only as much as absolutely necessary and kept one hand firmly on the wall as he made his way to the bathroom.

It took longer than he ever thought possible– was it always this far away from his room?– and he thought he might cry in relief when he saw the familiar stick-figure sign. He tried to keep from collapsing against the door as he pushed it open and _Holy shit there's a girl in there!_

Cassian jerked backwards in surprise at the undoubtedly feminine figure standing near the row of stalls. He stumbled back into the hallway and double-checked that he had the right bathroom. He did, but there was still _a girl in the men's restroom_ and his fever-scrambled brain had no idea what to do about that. He couldn't go in there while she was in there, clearly. It would be rude. Or something. He would have to wait until she came out.

He stood outside the door for as long as he could (not very long), then admitted defeat and sank to the floor, back against the wall and the back of his neck pressed to the blessedly cool cinderblock. To keep himself awake, he tried to read the cork board across the hall he and Leia had put together on healthy study habits last month, but the big block construction paper letters kept blurring and keeping his eyes open in the bright light was making his head hurt.

His eyelids kept sliding shut against his will, and his head would nod until he remembered where he was and that he _really had to pee_ then it would jerk painfully up again and the cycle would repeat itself. He wasn't sure how long this went on, but eventually his head jerked up to the sound of the bathroom door opening.

Two people stumbled out. A tallish boy he recognized as being one of his residents. A sophomore, he was pretty sure. Stordan… something. Tom? Tonc? Something like that. He was leaning heavily on the girl, one arm slung over her shoulders and his feet dragging behind hers. He looked drunk out of his mind and she was talking to him, murmuring encouragements as she practically dragged him to his room, a few doors down across the hall from the bathroom.

Her voice was so soothing he could only stare dumbly as she lifted Stordan's keys from his pocket and pulled him into his room. The door never closed behind them, and she emerged a few minutes later rolling her shoulders and fixing her hair, dragged out of its low ponytail by Stordan's clumsy arms. She saw him sitting pathetically in the hallway and seemed to float towards him.

She knelt beside him. "How much have you had?" She was wearing some sort of perfume and it smelled like flowers. Flowers in the middle of October. How lovely.

He almost smiled and shook his head. "Not drunk." His voice wasn't much more than a whisper. He swallowed painfully. "Sick."

Her brow softened. "Oh, sorry. Do you… need help getting up?"

He nodded and she grasped his bicep. Her hands were freezing (but everything was freezing to him at this point) and she had a shockingly strong grip as she hauled him to his feet.

"Where's your room?" she said once he'd steadied himself on her shoulders.

She was quite short, he thought. But really pretty. He shook his head. "Bathroom. I need– but you were in there, and I couldn't–" He wasn't making much sense, but she seemed to understand.

"Okay. Here, I'll help you. No one else is in there, I promise. It was just me and good ol' Stordan puking his guts out."

He shook his head again, suddenly desperate to preserve some of his rapidly fading dignity. "No. I'm okay. I can do it."

She looked skeptical. "Okay. I'll wait out here."

"You don't have to. I'm fine."

She nodded. "Undoubtedly."

He felt like she didn't believe him, but she didn't follow him into the bathroom.

He expected her to be gone when he reemerged, but she was still there, and she took his arm again with her cold, pale hand and said, "Which room?"

"310."

"All the way at the end? How did you even make it here?"

He honestly couldn't tell her, but he did know that the return trip went a lot faster when she was holding his arm like that. The hall was still spinning wildly around him, of course, but with something to ground him, it was far easier to figure out where he was going.

He unlocked his door and she stumbled over the pillow he'd thrown at Leia.

"Sorry." He sat gratefully on his bed. Back in his room, in the darkness and with the breeze from outside he was beginning to feel a little more coherent. It felt rude to lie down with a guest in his room, so he leaned against the wall.

"It's okay." She tossed the pillow onto the chair. She seemed hesitant to leave. "So… what plague do you have?"

He gave a humorless chuckle. Plague, indeed. "Mono."

She whistled. "That's rough. Who gave it to you? Was it worth it?"

"No. Not at all. I shared a shot glass with the wrong guy."

She laughed.

He felt a thrill go through him at the sound. "Sorry, what's your name?"

She smiled. "Jyn."

"Cassian."

She glanced around the room. "Pretty sweet single. You the RA?"

"Yeah. Sorry about my resident, I suppose normally I would handle that."

She snorted. "Don't worry about it. He got trashed at my party. I felt responsible."

"'S noble of you." His throat had dried out and he coughed.

Jyn nodded towards his water bottle. "Want me to fill that for you?"

 _Who was this girl?_ "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you."

Her lips quirked. "I'll be right back."

He watched the door in stunned silence while she was gone. She must go here, but he'd never been in a class with her. Was she a freshman? It didn't seem like it. Had he seen her before and forgotten? He was sure that wasn't the case. He would definitely remember her.

She came back with his water bottle.

He took it and began gulping from it.

"Woah, slow down."

He gasped and lowered it. Part of him couldn't believe she was still standing there. She'd been in and out of Tonc's room in less time. Not that he was complaining. "Do you want to sit down?" He should probably lie down and go back to sleep, but he wasn't ready for this interaction to end.

She looked around. His low, folding lounge chair was piled with clothes, so she sat in his desk chair, which he knew too well to be hard and uncomfortable.

He shifted slightly to the right on his bed. "You can sit up here." What was he saying? Inviting a near stranger to just… hang out in his room after midnight on a Friday. God, he must be delirious.

She stared at him for a second and he felt his face heating up and he wondered if he could blame it on his fever.

Then, to his complete and utter disbelief, she toed off her combat boots and sat cross-legged on his bed next to him, not close enough to touch, but close enough so she could probably feel the heat radiating off him.

She peered closely at him. "Have you been taking anything?"

"Tylenol." He indicated the bottle on the floor next to his bed.

"When was the last time you had any?" She reached down and tried to read the label in the dark.

Sometime before Leia had left. "I don't remember."

"Think maybe you should take some more?" She nudged him gently with her shoulder.

He felt another thrill go through him at the contact and all the air rushed out of his lungs. He made a conscious effort to take another breath. "Maybe." She handed him the bottle and he poured two tablets into his palm.

She settled back against the wall, and he tried to stop the irrational grin at the thought of her comfortable in his room. "Okay, so now you have to tell me who was taking care of you before they cruelly left you to your own devices."

"My co-RA. But she had plans and I told her to go. And I told her I would be fine, so while I appreciate all your help, I'm going to have to keep it a secret from her."

Jyn laughed and Cassian, in spite of his headache and fever and sore throat and general soul-crushing fatigue, laughed too.

"Who's your co-RA?" she said.

"Leia Organa."

"No way."

"What?"

"No _way_."

" _What?_ "

"Your caregiver ditched you for _my_ party?"

"You're in Fight Club?"

Jyn smirked. "You could say that."

"What?"

"Or you could say I'm the president."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. I told you Stordan got trashed at my party. The Fight Club party."

"You– I'm sorry, you're the president of _Fight Club_?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I have a lot of anger. And kickboxing is cathartic as _fuck_."

She sounded a little like she might fight him right now, but he had neither the energy nor the inclination to lean away. He turned his head to get a better look at her face and tried to keep the surprise off his face when he saw she was looking at him, too. Their shoulders were almost, but not quite touching and their faces were closer than he expected them to be, which set his heart racing and he was suddenly very, very awake.

Without looking away he said, "If you're supposed to be hosting the Fight Club party, then… what are you still doing here?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I ran out of booze and had to flee the scene."

"Didn't want a riot on your hands?" He was whispering, mostly because talking hurt, and she was speaking softly, and it felt like the the room had gotten smaller.

She shook her head. "You haven't hosted many parties, have you?"

"I'm an RA… Most of the time I'm the guy who breaks them up."

"Spoilsport." She nudged his shoulder again, and he wasn't sure if he leaned into her or she leaned into him, but their shoulders stayed touching. And Cassian was sure that even when she inevitably left and went back to her fascinating life hosting parties and kickboxing that (the pessimistic voice in his head insisted) almost certainly did not include him, he would still feel the imprint of her shoulder on his.

 _Just enjoy the moment_ , he thought. _Enjoy the moment and don't screw it up_. "So what really happens when you run out of cheap beer?"

She let out an exaggerated gasp. "Excuse you, I would never serve my guests carbonated yeast water." She sniffed. "I ran out of cheap vodka."

"Classy."

"It _is_ classy, thank you very much."

He could hear her smile. It did funny things to his chest. "So what happens when you run out of cheap vodka?"

"Well, people realize there's no more alcohol, so they just kind of… disappear. The party kind of dissolves and you're left standing alone in your living room with an empty pong table and a mess of used red plastic cups. It's actually kind of sad."

Her smile faded and he turned his head to look at her again, to say something nice, something to make her smile again. He nearly stopped breathing when he realized her head was so close his lips were practically touching her ear. Some part of his brain knew this was too close, he should tilt his head back or turn his head or _something_ , but he didn't.

After a few seconds, she turned her head, too– and Cassian would swear until his dying day what happened next was a complete and total accident and he had no intentions or ulterior motives– and their heads were so close and angled just right so their lips brushed for the briefest of seconds. And that second… just for that second, Cassian felt his eyes slip closed so he could focus on the feeling of her lips on his and he knew he needed more.

But not right _now_. He pulled his head away and rubbed his face with his hands. "Fuck, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

He felt her stiffen beside him.

"I mean, I _want_ – I _really_ want– to kiss you, properly, that is, if it's okay with you, but I also– don't want you to get sick." Fuck fevers for destroying his filter, but she _had_ to understand that.

She wasn't looking at him, but he could see her nodding slowly in the dark.

He sighed in relief and suddenly all the fatigue held somewhat at bay by the excitement and adrenaline of the last fifteen minutes came crashing down on him and he felt himself listing to the side. He heard Jyn slide off his bed and he almost whimpered at the loss of her, but then she turned around and pulled the blankets over his legs, settling them gently over his chest.

"I'm sorry," he sighed again.

"It's okay." Her hand came up and lightly brushed his forehead. "I almost forgot you were sick."

"Me, too." He saw her smile as his eyes closed.

"I'm going leave so you can rest, Cassian," she said.

God, he liked the way she said his name. "Okay." He pulled the blankets higher over his shoulders and he heard her hand on the doorknob. "Wait."

She paused.

"How… how will I know this wasn't all a dream?"

The smile came back into her voice. "You'll know."

 

He did wonder, briefly, when he woke up close to noon the next day, still sick and miserable, if he'd imagined the whole thing. But when he managed to raise himself onto his elbows to drink some more water, he saw the post-it note stuck to his nightstand. It read  _Jyn Erso_  in hasty chicken scratch, and ten digits were printed clearly below it. _Feel better_ , it said. _And call me_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote most of this waaay too late at night… But thanks for reading and I hope you liked it! 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I seriously can't over-express my gratitude for everyone who's been faithfully following and expressing interest in seeing this universe expanded. The encouragement means so much to me and my creative inspiration as a result has been overwhelming. Writing is my favorite hobby and to be able to do it for such a kind, supportive, and amazing audience has been wonderful.
> 
>  
> 
> Update: author's commentary on this chapter can now be found [here](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/post/169558178645/after-a-few-seconds-she-turned-her-head-too) :)


	2. Less than Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can thank (or blame) an 11-hour car ride and @RoverKelevra (who gave me the idea) for this sequel. ;)
> 
> Also I mucked around with ages because I can. :) 
> 
> Thank you for the wonderful response to chapter 1!!

"So, how are you feeling?"

Cassian smiled. Her voice, distorted through his cheap flip phone, still sounded like it did last night. Soft and smooth and comforting. "Tired."

"It's almost 1 in the afternoon." She was smiling, too. He could hear it.

"Don't care. I think I want to sleep forever." He was almost asleep now. He was lying on his side and his eyes were closed, phone pressed to the other ear. But he couldn't bear to give up the sound of her voice. On some level, he knew what that meant, but he was too tired to overthink it.

She laughed, and his heart jumped. "On the plus side, I don't think you're far behind all the idiots who went out and got horrifically drunk last night."

"I suppose not."

"Speaking of which, you'll be happy to know I found your neglectful co-RA."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. I don't know where she is now, but this morning she was on one of my couches. And I think she had a good night."

"Really? How do you know?"

Jyn laughed again. "Well for one thing, she wasn't alone. Or clothed."

Cassian chuckled. Although through his throat it was an odd wheezing sound.

"Has she come back to check on you, yet?"

"No. Or, not while I've been awake."

"So… not in the last ten minutes."

"What makes you think I've only been awake for ten minutes?" She was right, and maybe some part of him should've been embarrassed that she knew he'd called her right after he woke up, but it seemed like perfectly reasonable move at the time.

"A hunch," she said. Then she gave an exaggerated, put-upon sigh. "Since your caretaker is still absent, I suppose I'll have to pick up the slack. Have you taken your temperature?"

"No."

"…Well, why don't you do that for me?"

"Thermometer's too far away." It really wasn't. Leia had left it on his nightstand, and if he scooted to the right he could probably reach it. But the thought of that much movement was just so exhausting.

"I believe in you. Don't make me come over there."

Cassian swallowed at the thought of her coming over. "You might have to. It's _really_ far away."

"You're really trying to milk this, aren't you?" He could almost hear her rolling her eyes.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Suffer in stoic silence, of course. Like the rest of us."

He had a sudden, very scary thought. "Do you think I gave it to you? I'm so, so sorry if I did, it was an accident, I would never–"

"Oh boy. Calm down, Cassian."

 _Cassian_. He wished she would say his name more often. He took a deep breath.

"I'm pretty sure no saliva was exchanged last night. Also, I've already had mono. And I'm no bio major, but I'm told that makes me immune to your cooties."

"Oh, thank God." He realized something. "What is your major? Also, what year are you?" _And why have I never seen you before?_

"I'm a junior. Physics major. All about that STEM life."

"And kickboxing." Couldn't forget that.

She laughed. "Right. And kickboxing. And I'm guessing your major is… something boring. Like history. Which is why I've never seen you around the science department."

"I resent that."

"Am I wrong?"

"Yes. I'm in Law and Policy."

"Ohh, such a big difference."

"It is."

"Nope. I'll accept the differences between psychology and sociology, but beyond that, it's all the same."

"Too far. I'm offended."

"Oh well. What year are you?"

"Senior."

"Oh."

Was he kidding himself, or did she sound disappointed? He was disappointed. A semester and a half, and he was out of here, but she wasn't. He would have to leave, but she would have to stay… it didn't seem like enough time. But he couldn't say that to her. Not yet.

"Did you fall asleep? I didn't hear you hang up. Don't tell me you fell asleep with the phone pressed to your ear."

"I didn't." _I'm just sad_. _I wish I had more than a year_ _to get to know you._

"Good." She was silent for a minute. "Did you take your temperature?"

"No."

She sighed. " _Cassian_."

"Jyn." _I told you. You have to come over_.

"As much as I'd love to come and coddle you like the baby you apparently are, I'm technically on the clock here."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm supposed to be tutoring."

"And… you're on the phone?"

"They haven't showed. But I've still got 20 minutes before I can call it a bust."

"Who gets tutoring on a Saturday?"

"I didn't pick the time. I'm beholden to the one currently failing classical mechanics."

"Who's that?"

"Can't tell you. Peer tutor agreement."

"Oh. Sorry."

"But the point is I'm working. Which is why you need to get the thermometer yourself. I know you can reach it if you try. I saw it on your nightstand."

"No. It's too far. I can't."

"I believe in you."

"Can't."

" _Can_. Just try. Think of making it all the way to the bathroom last night. "

"That was a much more urgent situation."

"Hey, when I had mono my temperature got up to 104. My godfather almost took me to the hospital. Reach for the thermometer, Cassian. For me."

 _For her_. He had known her for way too little time for that to work on him, but it did. He let his phone slide onto his pillow and reached across his nightstand. He had to stretch and roll partway onto his stomach, but his fingers touched the hard plastic case and he pulled it towards him. He picked up the phone again. "I got it."

"I knew you could do it. Now give me a number."

"Impatient." But he stuck it under his tongue and waited for the beep. "100.8. Not so bad."

"It's still early. We'll see you how you feel this evening."

 _We?_ Did that mean she was coming over this evening? He smiled and tried to think of something to say that wouldn't reveal how totally gone he was already. Jyn was quiet and his eyes slipped closed and he almost felt himself drifting off when there was a knock at his door.

His eyes snapped open. That could be Leia coming to check on him. In which case, he was fine. He could ignore her. But it could also be a resident, in which case he was obligated to answer. Which meant getting up.

He pulled the phone away from his face. "Who is it?"

There was no answer, just another knock. When he thought about it, that could mean anything. Leia probably knew he wouldn't answer if he knew it was her, but it could still be one of his more introverted residents.

Fuck.

"Is someone at your door?" Jyn said from his phone.

He brought it back to his ear. "Yeah."

"I can call you back."

"No, don't hang up. Just–" Cassian struggled to sit up with only one hand. "Give me a minute." He put the phone down and pushed himself upright. God, he felt drained. He rose sluggishly to his feet, moving slowly to minimize the dizziness.

Whoever it was knocked again.

"Coming," he said. Speaking above a low mutter made his voice break like he was a teenager. He shuffled to the door and cracked it open to… Leia. He tried to close it on her but she suck her foot in the door.

"Nope, I'm coming in, Cassian."

Not really in any condition to resist, he let the door swing open and stumbled back to his bed, where he promptly collapsed. He picked up his phone before his head hit his pillow.

"Was it Leia?" said Jyn.

"Yeah."

"Ahh, the triumphant return. Tell her she and Han owe me a new couch."

He laughed. "I will."

"You will what?" Leia's irritated voice broke through his perfect little world where it was just him and Jyn.

Jyn must've heard her too, because she laughed. "Okay, I think that's my cue to go. I'll see you later."

"Okay. See you." He heard her hang up and lowered his phone to glower at Leia, who was looking nothing short of incredulous. "What?"

"Who was _that?_ "

"No one."

"Uh, sure. That was _not_ no one. Come on, Cassian. What the fuck happened in the last twenty-four hours that now you're flirting with someone over the phone?"

"I could ask you the same question." There were circles under her eyes, but she didn't look that tired. Which made sense, from what Jyn had told him. "How was your night?"

"It was fine," she deflected. "How was _yours?_ I get the feeling it was a lot more interesting than you sleeping for twelve hours straight."

"It was fine," he said. "You owe the president of Fight Club a new couch."

Leia's mouth dropped open.

Cassian smirked.

"What– Who– How do you know about that already?"

"Word gets around." Cassian rearranged the blankets around his legs, feeling exceedingly proud of himself.

"Word does _not_ – You– What– Shut up!" Leia was glaring at him, and her mouth kept opening and closing like a fish.

Cassian laughed at the mental image.

" _You_ – Last night, you looked like you were dying, you can _not_ be laughing now!"

He just laughed again. And he must've looked just a _bit_ too happy, because Leia's eyes narrowed.

"Who was it?"

He stared at her with as much wide-eyed innocence as he could muster. "Who was who?"

"Who was on the phone with you?"

"Like I said, no one."

"Bull _shit_." Before he could do anything, she grabbed his phone from the bed and not for the first time Cassian wished he had one of those fancy smartphones that required a passcode to unlock. "Let's see… recent calls… _Jyn Erso?_ Who the hell is _Jyn Erso?_ " She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.

He reddened and tried to resist pulling the covers over his head. But he didn't need to say anything. Leia was his best friend, and he had trouble hiding things from her on a good day, never mind with mono and a fever of 100.8. He watched helplessly as realization dawned on her face.

" _That's_ the president of Fight Club? How do you know her? You didn't even know Fight Club was a thing last night, now you have the president's phone number?" She narrowed her eyes. "How did you get it? It must've been last night because I'd know if you were having giggly phone conversations before that."

"I was not _giggling_ ," he muttered.

"You were _so_ giggling. Oh my God, you _like_ her. I don't know how you met her or what happened, but somehow, you met the president of Fight Club and now you're _infatuated_ with her!"

"I am not!"

"You totally are, your face is so red!" Leia was practically cackling. "Oh, Cassian. I am going to have _so much fun_ with this."

 

Leia camped out at Cassian's desk with her homework for the rest of the afternoon on the pretense of taking care of him (which really only required periodically refilling his water bottle), and was still there when Jyn showed up in the evening, which Cassian suspected was her plan the whole time. In fact, Leia answered the door and gave Cassian her most obnoxious shit-eating grin when Jyn introduced herself.

Then she immediately rearranged her features like the smooth-talking politician she already was and said, "So nice to meet you. I'm Leia."

"Nice to meet you."

Cassian cracked smiled into his pillow at the sound of her voice, but didn't raise his head. He'd been feeling increasingly listless as the afternoon dragged on, and his headache had slowly spread to his entire body, making him feel slow and his joints creaky. His throat throbbed every time he breathed, and even though he felt really, really hot right now, he couldn't even find the energy to push the blankets off.

Leia stepped aside and let Jyn into the room. She began packing up her stuff, saying something about a study group (a blatant lie, it was Saturday– Cassian's bet was on a date with Han) and smirked at them one last time before she left.

Jyn put a paper to-go container on the nightstand. "They had chicken noodle soup in the cafe today. I smuggled some out for you."

A warm feeling spread through his chest. "Thank you." Cassian slowly pushed himself upright and ran a hand through his hair, which was becoming stringy with sweat and grease after not showering for two days. He took a deep breath, trying to shake some of the lethargy and lightheadedness, with limited success. He brought his legs up and rested his head on his knees. His eyes closed again without his permission, and he opened them to the feel of Jyn's cool fingers cautiously on his forehead.

"You feel up to eating?"

He wasn't really hungry, but he hadn't consumed anything besides water and a half a pop tart all day, so he supposed he should eat something. Then again, his throat was so sore he was kind of afraid he'd choke if he tried to swallow anything. It seemed like a lot to explain, so he just shrugged and tried to keep his eyes from closing again. God, this was so _frustrating_. Jyn was finally here, wanted so badly to wake up and talk to her, make her laugh and learn everything he could about her, but he was just so _tired_.

"Hey." Jyn nudged his shoulder. "You don't have to eat right now if you don't want to, but it's going to get cold and I didn't see a microwave in the kitchen on this floor."

"Broke," he murmured. "Dunno… what happened."

Her fingertips were back on his forehead. "You feel pretty warm. Can you maybe take some more Tylenol?"

He nodded and made another effort to wake up. He ran his hands over his sticky face again and sat up straighter. "Yeah. Sorry. Yes." He gave her a weak smile.

She was frowning at him. "Wait here." She nudged the soup and spoon towards him and left, propping the door open behind her.

He took more Tylenol and stirred the soup experimentally while he waited. It smelled good, but his view of his pillow looked better and he thought he might just lie back down and fall asleep if she didn't come back in another minute or two.

Maybe he dozed off again sitting up because it seemed like he blinked and Jyn was in front of him again, sticking the thermometer in his face. He put it under his tongue and waited.

"102.9," Jyn said. "No wonder you feel so shitty." Then she produced a handful of paper towels she'd soaked with cold water from the bathroom.

He took them and pressed them to his forehead. He nearly cried with relief as water dripped down his face. He hadn't realized how uncomfortably warm he was until just then. The makeshift compress didn't help his throat or the heaviness in his limbs, but the fog in his brain cleared a bit and he felt a little more awake.

"Better?"

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Good. Maybe in a few minutes you could try the soup?"

He gave her a slightly stronger smile. "Yeah."

 

* * *

 

That night, Cassian fell asleep before Jyn left, but she texted saying she'd be back tomorrow afternoon. She visited at least once nearly every day that week as he recovered, and Leia made good on her promise to cut him exactly zero slack about it.

"Is your girlfriend coming by today?" she said on Wednesday when she brought him notes from their advanced foreign policy seminar.

"Ha ha." He was sitting at his desk, trying to get a head start on the work he'd missed on Monday and Tuesday. He was feeling a bit better– his throat was not quite as sore, his fever was down (although not completely gone), and he was pretty sure he'd make it to class tomorrow, although he wouldn't be happy about it.

"I took a detour by the physics building this afternoon and she seemed in a real hurry to leave after labs ended."

Cassian reddened. Jyn had come by his room around 15 minutes later, breathing hard because she only had one free hour between classes and work today. She'd ended up spending all of it with him.

"So tell me." Leia sat in his folding chair and put her elbows on his desk. "Have you kissed her yet?"

"Hilarious." He firmly took the notes from her.

She just smirked.

" _No_. Although she's already had it, so she says she's immune."

"So you're not going to wait the two months or whatever until you're not contagious?"

"Of course I am." Cassian shifted his weight. Was it really two months?

"Really?"

"Yeah." _Two months is a long time._ He thought about it. _But… we've kind of already kissed._

"Cassian?" Crap, Leia sounded suspicious. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." He stared at the notes without really seeing them.

"Oh my God, you've already kissed her, haven't you?"

"It was an accident! And she said she's immune!"

"Cassian, you plague rat!" She thumped the back of his head

"Ow! It was an accident," he said again.

"How does _that_ happen by accident?"

"I don't know, we were sitting next to each other and I turned my head and she turned her head and our lips touched for like half a second. But that's it."

"When did this happen?"

"The night we met," he muttered.

Leia stared at him for a second, then her expression softened and she cooed, "Aww."

"What."

"You _like_ her."

Cassian glared at the notes. "Already established."

"No, you _seriously_ like her. Like a _lot_."

"Are you done?"

"Not even close." Leia stood up. "But I'm meeting Han for dinner– don't say anything– so I'll have to continue tomorrow."

"Great."

"Make sure to invite me to the wedding!" She ducked the eraser he threw at her and slipped out the door.

 

Cassian spent the next ten minutes staring resolutely at his notes, as if willing them to sink into his brain, until Jyn texted.

 **Jyn** 6:22 pm  
_sorry i couldn't stay longer today. i'll come by after class tomorrow when i have more time_

 **Cassian** 6:23 pm  
_Awesome. Let me know it's you at the door. Leia's banned from my room and I'll be pretending to be asleep if it's her._

 **Jyn** 6:23 pm  
_XD_ _the soups tomorrow r potato leek and mixed veggie. Pick ur poison._

 **Cassian** 6:24 pm  
_Mixed veggie sounds good._

 **Jyn** 6:25 pm  
_i'm sure the cafe will find a way to ruin it. gtg, tutee just showed up byee <3_

Cassian stared at the tiny text-heart for way too long before he remembered to respond.

 **Cassian** 6:27 pm  
_< 3_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.
> 
> If you want, imagine ending credits to these songs:  
> "Empire" - Jukebox the Ghost  
> "Better" - Regina Spektor
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you so much for reading/leaving kudos/commenting!! It means so much.


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